A possible attempt on the King George VI Chase is still very much on Dorans Pride's agenda but his old rival Imperial Call will miss his intended Christmas engagement in the Ericsson Chase.
Imperial Call's long running back problems have led to the horse being lame on his off-fore and now trainer Raymond Hurley hopes to have him ready for the Hennessy Gold Cup in February.
"It's not a serious problem but we would have had to push to get him ready for the Ericsson and he is not a horse you can push. We definitely hope to have him ready for the Hennessy and I'd like to give him a run before that. There are loads of options, even maybe over hurdles," Hurley said yesterday.
In contrast Michael Hourigan has a choice of the Ericsson or the King George for Dorans Pride and yesterday said that travel arrangements to Kempton will not be a priority consideration in where the horse goes.
"The horse doesn't mind flying and there is a plane flying from Shannon if we decide to go to England. We'll wait and see what happens but the way Tom Doran (owner) sees it, the horse has already won an Ericsson," Hourigan said.
The most valuable race at Thurles tomorrow is the £10,000 Carey Bros Hurdle where the Andrew McNamara trained Daraheen Chief looks a hard horse to beat but those looking for a puzzle to solve will be intrigued by the Molony Cup.
A field of 16 line up for the three mile stamina test including horses from the powerful stables of Edward O'Grady, Willie Mullins and Tony Martin. However one of the youngest runners, the six-year-old Call Me Dara, looks a value option to score for the Co Cork based trainer Robert Tyner.
Call Me Dara sprang something of a shock at Clonmel in early November when the 14 to 1 shot outstayed the market leaders Kadouko and River Cora in a Beginners Chase.
The Martin trained Fandango de Chassy is due to have supporters as will Generosa's conqueror Jolly John. However, if Call Me Dara was housed in one of the major yards she would probably attract a lot more attention in the market and thus looks a bit of value.
The opening handicap chase over the minimum trip features the course and distance winner Vain Minstrel and the Clonmel scorer Irregular Planting, both of which like to be prominent in their races. Vain Minstrel's handicap defeat of Fandango de Chassy appears to read just the better.
